Chapter 7
Asterion
Clara is fast asleep on the pile of furs that make my bed.
Long ago, I carved a platform from a fallen tree and have added numerous furs to the bed over the years.
A few times per year, I take them all out to clean them with fresh air and a good beating.
She is snuggled into them, wearing only a large shirt she packed with her, the bottoms of those beautiful, round buttocks barely peeking out.
She looks so warm and content. I long to touch her again, to hear the moans she makes when she goes to that place where words escape her, but I have business to do, and I have to do it tonight.
My lips barely brush her forehead as I kiss her goodbye. I hope she does not wake before I get back, and I have nothing to write on to leave a note, so all I can do is hope.
The night is clear, and I see the beginnings of snowflakes dropping, just as I predicted.
I begin a slow jog through the forest, the moon guiding my path, a path I have taken countless times before.
I will reach the cabin in good time. I have a hard time focusing on the terrain in front of me, my mind wandering to Clara.
I think of her now as I first saw her. Head bloodied from her fall in the forest, me carrying her into the cabin and laying her down on the bed.
My mind’s eye conjures the look on her face when she first saw me, the confusion and the fear.
It's replaced by the look of ecstasy she had when I first tasted her.
The journey to the cabin is so much faster with me alone and running in the woods.
Even the animals that know me seem to sense something is about to happen.
They stay silent and far away from this place tonight.
I creep to the very edge of the tree line, the now dark and silent cabin just within my field of vision.
And I wait. I track the moon’s path as it fully rises in the sky and begins its nightly trek.
I do not know how many hours I have waited, but my joints are stiff from remaining so still.
Just as the moon starts to fall from the highest point in the sky, I see faint lights from the paved path behind the cabin, and hear gravel crunching.
Here comes the fool. A wry smile crosses my lips.
Of course, he would rush here. I wonder what thoughts a man like this has.
What causes him to inflict pain on such a beautiful soul such as Clara, to have the audacity to claim her as a predator claims its prey?
I am more determined to follow through with my plan.
As much as I want to stroll across the snow-filled clearing and snatch Mark into my hands, I wait.
What does a fool such as this look like?
I wonder to myself. I have to time it just right, so I watch as Mark exits the contraptions that humans call cars.
In the moonlight, I can see he is tall for a human male, with short sandy blonde hair, and eyes that are small and too close together.
Mark looks around cautiously, glancing towards the forest. A look of apprehension crosses his face, and I know he will not willingly enter the dark woods tonight.
With slow footsteps, he goes to the door of the cabin.
I see him glance at the woodpile. I am pleased to see it is covered with even more snow since Clara and I left, making the cabin seem even more desolate and abandoned than before.
I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, the fear I had that my kindness in filling the woodpile would come back to haunt me, dissipating.
Mark cups his hands around his eyes as he stands by one of the windows, peering into the kitchen.
I am imagining what he is seeing. The carefully folded quilt laying across the back of the worn couch.
The cold and empty fireplace. I think of Clara spread naked on the rug in the firelight. Focus! I admonish myself.
He moves to the door now, slowly trying the handle, which we locked before we left. I see him bend down next to the keyhole and watch as the door swings open a few moments later. Mark disappears inside, and I see the shallow beam of a light as he makes his way inside.
As I see the beam move into the bedroom, I take my opportunity and I run full pelt to the door, my strong legs pumping fast and silent beneath me. My breath is steady as I reach the door, step inside, and close it behind me.
Mark is still in the bathroom with his little light.
I have to be careful as I move forward toward him to not let my hooves clatter on the old wooden floors.
I position myself right inside the bedroom door, blocking any path of his escape.
Mentally, I prepare myself for the show I am about to put on.
I am a predator, I am a scary predator. I take a deep breath and begin the low growl deep in my throat, my lips lifting into a snarl.
Mark spins around, the light beaming right in my face, blocking my vision, but I hold steady and focus my eyes on him just below the beam, not allowing myself to be blinded.
I placed my clawed hands on either side of the doorway, letting each nail scrape into the wood with a satisfying screech.
I escalate my snarling and growling to a truly terrifying pitch, drool now dripping over my lips.
I snap my jaws a few times and inch my way closer to Mark.
He is shaking and drops the light, which rolls away, bouncing shadows around the small room, which also creates a large shadow behind me, illuminating my height.
I give one last snarl, snapping at Mark a few more times, and I strategically place myself to the right of the door as if I am going to lunge at him, giving him plenty of room to side step around me.
He trips on the doorway, scrambles to his feet, and sprints to the car, screaming.
It is with great satisfaction that I see he has wet himself. I listen for the squeal of the tires before I wipe my mouth. I carefully close the door behind me and sprint back into the woods.
Now for the hard part. I must wait and hope that this resolves itself before sunrise.
???
I SHIFTED MY place in the woods to a spot about halfway up a tree that is near the cabin but not directly in front.
The moon has finished its path and is now setting, the first glimmers of sunlight barely peeking over the horizon.
If Mark doesn't show up soon, I may need to leave before I can see this done with. I cannot have Clara waking up alone.
Just as I am thinking of leaving, I hear the sirens and crunching of gravel, signaling at least two cars coming up the path from the road.
From the first car exits the sheriff, a short, portly man who is getting on in age. I have seen glimpses of him and his friends in the woods during hunting season, and he is the exact person I was hoping would show up. I see another officer has joined him.
The next car is Mark’s. I see the driver’s door swing open, and I hear his voice before I see him, as it is so high-pitched that it is reaching me in my tree.
“Kate, I said I saw some kind of monster in your house!! Are you telling me no one has ever seen anything like that before?!” He pauses, listening to the phone. “Whatever! Don’t believe me!” He pauses again. “I am telling you what I saw, why won't anyone BELIEVE ME!” He is screaming now.
The sheriff approaches him now, putting a hand on his shoulder, but Mark shrugs it violently off. I see the sheriff and his officer give each other a meaningful look before they shake their heads.
“Look, son, we came all the way out here because you insisted we come…”
Mark cuts the sheriff off before he can finish. “I TOLD YOU! I saw a monster! At least seven, maybe eight feet tall. It had HORNS and HOOVES! It almost killed me!!”
The sheriff reaches out to Mark again, trying to calm him down, but Mark once again flings the offer away, a little too violently this time. I see the officer place a casual hand on his gun. The sheriff and the officer take a step closer to Mark.
Suddenly, Mark screams into the morning air.
He actually stomps his foot. “Well, if you’re not going into the woods to kill it, then I will!
It probably ate my wife! You fucking idiot, hick cops!
Goddammit!” Mark lunges for the officer’s gun, and in a flash, he is in handcuffs, kicking and screaming as the sheriff and his officer drag Mark into the back of their car.
The car is rocking as Mark thrashes inside, screaming at the top of his lungs.
I see the sheriff and the officer facing away from me, their heads together, talking into a small black box in their hand. I take the opportunity to drop back down to the ground.
I step to the tree line just as Mark glances up. He sees me through the window, his eyes white with shock, mouth open as his scream reaches a fever pitch, drawing the attention of the other two men. I sink back into the darkness of the forest and begin to run back to Clara.